Can two broken men build one life? Ten years. That’s what Makai lost for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s been exonerated, but the abuse he suffered in prison isn’t so easy to leave behind. He heads to the one place he remembers being happy: Acker, Wisconsin, where he spent summers with his grandpa. Unfortunately, not everyone wants Makai there. Ten days. That’s how long Emil, now twenty-one, was held prisoner as a teenager. The mental and physical injuries he suffered at the hands of a drug trafficking ring still haunt him. Nightmares, anxiety, and PTSD challenge the connection forming between Makai and Emil, though together, they might find a way to move beyond their pain and into a future -- and a relationship -- that both had thought impossible. Now they just have to convince Emil’s father, the town sheriff. It won’t be easy with danger closer than they know ...

“Want coffee?” Makai called to him. “I need a cup, so I could make enough for you.”


Makai put the coffee machine on and peered into the pseudopantry in the corner. He’d wiped the shelves and added a few hooks into the ceiling to hang things from. It looked okay, but they still needed to get the stuff inside.


“She ate about a third,” Emil told him as he came to deposit the rest in the fridge.


“Thanks, you’re now her favorite person,” Makai teased gently.


“Hah, I wish. So, should we go figure out what we want to carry in first? The pantry stuff maybe? That way we can organize it all while we have coffee?” Emil asked, looking so very energetic.


Again, Makai smiled at him a bit dumbly. Emil shook his head, looking fond for a moment.


Chapter 38